The Way Life Mocks Me
by Karla3
Summary: -Complete-AU Squall is the presidents teenage son. His life is one of rules and regulations, but what happens when he meets up with the general's daughter? Rules were made to be broken. -Rewrote ending 18th July 04-
1. The Joy of Education

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from final fantasy 8

She just sat there staring at me through her moon glasses like she was trying to burn a hole in my head. As if there wasn't one they're already. The stacks of books piled in front of me weren't even enough to convince her that I really was trying hard…well kinda.

Can't blame me though. It's the school holidays and I've been made to sit and do more work for 5 hours every second day of the holidays. Torture! Just pure torture.

I suppose I had better introduce myself. I'm Squall. I'm 16. Turning 17 in about three weeks. I'm the president Loire's son. That's what I used to call myself when I was young. Not Squall, just The president's son. It began to be a really regular thing. People would ask me and not get an answer unless they said The presidents son. That's all I am to them.

Margaret. She teachers me outside school. Not a tutor because I don't need a tutor. Laguna doesn't want me to just make school my limits. He believes in learning at home as well. What a joke. Yeah, Laguna is my father. The president of Esthar. The most thriving and popular country in world. I live in the presidential palace. Hey I don't exactly want to. I have to. Just like I have to write a 4000 word essay on the way fisheries impact on the natural marine wildlife. Like I hadn't learnt about this ten thousand times already. 

The paper was laughing at me. It knew that there was no way I was going to put 4000 words on it and no way it would all be actually worth a good mark as well. Mitch was going to check on me soon and if I hadn't done enough id get in enough trouble to fill the swimming pool. Trust me, I have a very big swimming pool. 

I put my pen on the paper and started to write…

__

Our natural environment needs to be protected because truthfully it can't protect itself.

We have the power to protect this wonderful wildlife and make the world we live in a better place.

That was it. I tried to think of what else to say and just as the words came to me, Mitch walked in. He had his hands behind his back and walked as if he owned me, as usual but he seemed to fault as he saw how much I had put onto my page. Hey 33 words out of 4000 in an hour…that's pretty good. Right?

"Do expect us to write this for you or would you prefer us to put back in primary school where you belong?"

" It's not my fault…"

"Not your fault? That you can't seem to do a decent hour worth of work! This is no playtime! You are as of now practically back in school. I'm sorry but you have pushed me this way. 5 hours in Margaret's supervision 'every' day" 

I looked up at him with my face showing complete horror.

"No way! You can't do that!"

He turned and walked out of the library.

" I am"

I sat back down and imitated his last words making him sound like he had a squeaky and irritating voice. 

"Leonheart! Get on with it!"

Damn. I forgot Margaret had good hearing.

My real surname is actually Loire like my father but people mostly use Leonheart because it was supposedly my mothers surname and my mother and father were never married. I don't why they didn't use Loire. It was just another of life's strange ways.

__

This includes our marine wildlife. The fisheries have a deep impact on the number of plants and animals in our waters. Proper restrictions help to keep this under control, however, are we doing enough?

I began to quietly bang my head on the desk hoping that if my brain got damaged enough it would plant some wonderful ideas in hopes to get me to stop bashing it on the desk.

The best it did was give a headache. Useless.

Margaret gave me the 'evil eye' again so I stopped and for the fiftieth time I tried to concentrate on my work.

__

This is the question in mind. To work together and try to protect our marine life and use the power we have been granted.

Oh how many times have I heard that sentence? ' Use the power that you have been granted' probably a million if had kept count.

__

By protecting our marine wildlife we our also protecting our future.

Introduction finished. That's less than 60 words out 4000. I was practically looking at deaths door.

Authors note! Wow Yay. I'm glad I have the first chapter done. Please review and tell me what you think so far. I will pick up the story a little bit more ok? Thanks for reading!


	2. My Life is Over

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from final fantasy 8, yaaawwwnn.

My footsteps made that irritating and loud clapping noise as I walked down the empty corridor on my way to my room. I had managed to write less than 2000 words in the remaining 4 hours I had left with Margaret and now I was just going to…sleep? No listen to music. Play the Sony…nah.

In my bedroom I slumped onto my bed and grabbed my bear, stitches, from the table looked at him. I got stitches 4 years ago when I went to hospital for a week because I got my hand stuck on some barbwire. There's a fence around the back of the palace and I tried to climb it but unfortunately I learnt that it had barbwire on top…the hard way. So yeah, stitches is my mate.

Not my only mate though. Dave, a friend from school takes me out around Esthar sometimes when he knows I need some air. His girlfriend Jenny tags along too. Their cool. They've been my friends since…well I can't remember now. We hang out whenever we can, but whenever we can is pretty rare. That's when Mitch comes into play.

Mitch is kinda my personal bodyguard type thing and he always has to know where I'm going why, when ill be back and so on and so forth. He keeps Laguna informed on every little thing I do and makes sure he scolds me in the toughest ways possible. 

" Squall your father is back. Come out here now and see him"

Speak of the devil.

I put stitches back on the table and lazily got up from my bed. Mitch walked down to the helicopter landing and I waited for Laguna to come over and say " Hi Squall nice to be back" Then walk off. He did almost just that.

His two bodyguards' were holding his suitcases and he had a backpack slung over one arm. Mitch smiled and shook his hand. " Mr. president I hope your are glad to back"

'Yes thankyou, and how are you studies going Squall?"

" Fine"

" Very well, Ill be in my office, I need to prepare for that meetings with the Galbadian general"

Done. He's back home so now I can go back to my room and do nothing.

Wrong.

"Squall in about half an hour go and wait outside Mr. presidents office"

" Fine"

Mitch stayed and I walked back to my room. My room was big but not huge. I had a computer, heaps of game consoles and a lounge in the corner in front of wide screen T.V brilliant huh? 

No.

A minute before I was supposed to leave and go to Laguna's office Dave rang me. 

" Dave! You have to save me! Mitch changed the rules so I havta work 5 hours every day!"

" Calm own man, that still leaves you with about 19 hours of play"

" I do need sleep though"

"Says who?"

" Yeah, yeah anyway I need you to pick me up at…7 p.m.?"

"Alright I'll be there, seeya"

" Later"

So that was done. I made my way to Laguna's office and waited outside for a while before one of his advisers let me in. 

He was sitting at his desk packing some papers into a suitcase.

"Squall, please sit down for a moment"

" I just got off the phone with the general. He is going to be coming down here to Esthar and going through some plans with me. Meanwhile I would like you to show his daughter around Esthar. She will be staying here at the palace."

Oh just brilliant. I had to put up with some nosy, posh, stuck up…

" Squall I know you don't normally do this kind of thing but she will be needing to stay here. The general wanted her to be in safe hands and be close to him. Understood?"

I banged my head down on the table. " My life is over" 

" Squall?"

He used that same toned he always used when he was disciplining me. Yeah the one he uses all the time.

" Whatever"

I got up and walked out. I knew that this was going to be hard. But hey how bad could it be to just show some little girl around the place? I'll just be a tour guide for a few minutes, then ignore her for the rest. She'll get the picture. Yep, perfect plan.

Not.

"Dad I'll be fine. You know how much security that place has anyway and I'm sure some rich kid isn't going to try and kill me or anything"

" Sweetie I'm just concerned that's all. I'll check up on you every chance I get ok"

" Ok"

On my way to Esthar. Going to a palace and staying with the president's Loire's son. This was not my idea of a holiday. Dad had promised me that he would take me away somewhere for the holidays and he chose to take me to Esthar? I mean it's not like I don't like the place. It's huge, has the most popular people in it and every person I know dreams of spending ages there, let alone with the presidents son. But I had wanted to go to out with my friends and have a good time at home on my own while dad was away. But no. Dad thought going to Esthar would be a great opportunity. 

The scenery outside the plane window was pretty boring. No forests or lakes or anything of the sort. Just plain boring desert. This would probably be the best chance I had of getting any sleep, but Dad thought otherwise.

" You know there really is a lot of history in Esthar that would be useful to know. Like how long it took to build it and the amount of trouble the people went through while getting it built. You know the government of Galbadia wasn't properly formed back then but I think you'll find that…"

I lost interest in the conversation. He just sat there talking and talking and talking some more. Sure Esthar had some great history all right.

" And what about the presidents son…hmm…I think his name is Squall or something along the lines of that"

I peeled my eyes off the window and started listening.

" Yes that's it. I heard he does schooling in the holidays as well. Just feel lucky your not in that position"

" Oh yes, very lucky"

" I think he's about 17 or so"

He chuckled a bit.

" Your age! Nice coincidence isn't it?"

" Uh huh"

" Honestly you have nothing to worry about. Esthar will be great and I'm sure Squall will show all the great views from the top"

" Wonderful"

My eyes were back on the window and I began to miss home more then ever. I didn't exactly know how long I was going to stay in Esthar but I hoped it wouldn't be for too long. Long holidays never worked out.

I had decided to bring my cat with me. Her name is Ginger. I called her that because the first plush toy I got was a kitten and I had named it Ginger. When my toy kitten got chewed up by a dog Dad bought me a real kitten so I just named it Ginger again.

Ginger sat on my lap, curled up asleep. We were on Dads private plane so we didn't need to worry about her. Her little ears twitching every now and then.

" We're almost there, just sit back and have a rest if you want"

Thankyou. Finally. 

I laid my head back onto the pillow on my seat and looked back out the window. We would probably arrive in Esthar tonight, late. I'm sure Squall, or who ever would be asleep. 

My mobile rang. I desperately hoped it Danielle. 

" Danni?"

"You guessed it"

" Danni! Hi! I'm almost there"

" Great! You make sure you call me when you're there ok? I wanna know what I'm missing out on!"

" Don't worry I'll call you"

" Good. So have you heard anything about this guy?"

" What guy?"

" The presidents son! Duh! I heard he was cute"

" Oh Danni honestly I'm not looking forward to it. I bet he just some ugly snob"

" Rin! What's gotten into you! Of course he's gonna be cute!"

" Yeah whatever ill send you a postcard if you want"

" Sure thing!. Anyway I've got to go ok, Ring me!"

" Ok I will, bye"

I put my mobile back in my pocket and laid back again. I'm Rinoa Heartily. I'm Turning 17 this year and I'm on my way to stay with a guy my best friend is in love with. Oh happy days.

Authors note: I think I really like this chapter. Thanks again for reading! And thankyou sooooo much to all who reviewed my last chapter! Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou! Please review everyone it really does mean a lot to me! J 


	3. The Feeling's Mutual

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from final fantasy 8

Dave turned up at 7 and I told Mitch the usual stuff. We went out to the Cazma Drink n Pool pub. It's not a sleazy pub. All my mates go there. We play pool. Sometimes we have a can beer but its pretty rare and neither of us ever come home drunk. It's just a great place to hang out. Jenny, Dave and another one my mates Mike, played pool with me. Mike ended up winning. He's a champion at pool.

Unfortunately Mitch gave me a curfew. 10 p.m. sharp. Dave drove me back.

"Sorry man. I'll help ya get revenge on him when you get out of that place"

" Yeah thanks that's only if you're willing to wait until I'm 30"

Once home. I just dove straight into to bed. That girl would probably be here by now and I didn't exactly want to meet her right now. She could wait until morning. I wanted to sleep in and be woken up by a very angry Mitch waiting outside my door at 2.pm yelling at me to get up and meet our guest. Yeah that would be nice.

It didn't happen. I woke up at 6.am and I couldn't get back to sleep no matter how hard I tried. I gave up my fantasy and grabbed a bowl of cereal from the kitchen and sat down in front of the large glass window in the lounge room that covered an entire wall. No, I didn't sit in front of T.V I sat in front of a window. I liked it better.

When I finished eating I put my bowl on the bench next to me and pushed it. The bowl skidded along the bench until it hit the sink and fell in with a bit of a crash. But nothing broke. I silently whispered "Score!" and put my feet up on the table looking out on Esthar.

A lot of people were up and walking about. I saw quite a few people doing their morning jog and a bunch of kids walking with their mother. One of the kids threw a tantrum and starting jumping up and down yelling. The mother tried to calm the kid but then they all starting yelling and jumping. I felt so sorry for her. But then strangely she bent down and gave the youngest one a hug. All the kids stopped yelling and held their mum's hand and kept walking.

I felt kinda strange. Loneliness? Jealousy? Nah. Not me. 

" Is this a favorite past time?"

I turned my head to see who belonged to the female voice I heard and saw her. 

She raised an eyebrow and sighed. 

" I'm Rinoa, you know the girl that's staying with you for a while"

" Generals daughter?"

" Yeah that's me"

" Oh ok, I'm Squall"

" Nice to meet you…so are you gonna show me around this afternoon?"

I remembered the plans I made with Dave. A pity really, she was gorgeous.

She had black hair down to her chest and a black tank top with small denim shorts. She 'really' was pretty…but I 'really' had promised Dave.

"Uh…no sorry iv'e got plans already, maybe tonight"

I got up and made a move to leave but she stopped me.

" Plans? What kind of plans?"

" Baseball practice"

"Oh…that important is it?

" Yes it is actually"

" I thought you were supposed to be showing me around?"

"Yeah I know, but I'm not exactly a tour guide, I do have plans too you know"

" Geez thanks"

" No problem"

She looked at me in an angry way and I just smiled back in a sarcastic way. I could tell she didn't like me but hey, the feeling's mutual. 

I left her fuming in the lunge room and went back to my room to get ready for baseball practice. Dave and I usually play at the oval in front of the presidential palace. I like to bat while he's a good bowler. Jenny just watches and runs around picking balls up. It's great.

On my way to the oval to set up I ran in Margaret.

" Leonheart, don't forget your lesson with me today at 6 p.m. If your not there Mitch will be informed so make sure you turn up" 

She just walked straight past me then. I felt like saying " Yeah ok I'll be there 10" but I held back.

I ran into Rinoa also.

" I'm coming with you"

" Why?"

" I don't exactly have anything else better to do and it's a miracle I even found you. This place is like a maze"

" Fine"

I rolled my eyes and figured that this was definitely going to be a long day.

" Who was that lady you spoke to just then?"

" Margaret, she teaches me in the holidays"

I could just see her grin even if she was standing behind me.

" Oh yeah…ok"

You won't be smiling for long missy.

" So tell me Miss Heartily why exactly have you come to Esthar? Was it to annoy me?"

" I came because my Dad made me. He said I should learn more about Esthar…and he wants me to be safe"

She had a little bit of anger in her voice. But I was glad.

Mitch came around the corner. Why, why me.

" Ellone is here. She's at the helicopter landing. She'll come down to see you tonight"

" Oh ok great. Tell her I'll meet her in the gardens"

" Fine and make sure you be a proper host for our guest"

His voice had daggers attached to it. I swear.

I pocked my tongue at him when he turned back around and left. I was glad he didn't see me because he usually does. Then he'll punish me like extra hours with Margaret or grounding me for weeks. Just the usual stuff.

" Who was that?"

I was glad her voice showed absolutely no tone as to liking him.

" That was Mitch. My bodyguard and watcher"

" You don't like him?"

" Of course not"

A very 'Matter of Fact' tone. 

No more interruptions. Just get to the oval. Get to the oval.

Authors Note: Wow I think this is probably one of my most quickest updates. I'm glad I've gotten this far into the fic. Thanks again for reading. I'll keep the updates coming. 


	4. Lasers of Hate

Disclaimer: Ok this disclaimer will last for the WHOLE ENTIRE STORY ok? I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING FROM FINAL FANTASY 8. It doesn't belong to me.

I managed to get a chocolate drink from one of the many different varieties in the cupboard. I stood in front of the large glass window in the lounge room. From the lounge room I could see a really good portion of Esthar. Down below was a very large and nice green oval surrounded thickly by trees. Three people were playing baseball…or something like that.

One was a girl with blonde hair. She was wearing a red cap and looked like the sporty type. The bowler was standing a fair way away from the batter with a blue cap and a black helmet on. I think he had long brown hair. Oh and the batter, of course was Squall. He had a black cap with the helmet. 

The blue cap man hurled the ball at what I thought could make it into the Guinness book of records one day. Just in time, Squall hit the ball sending it flying up and past the many trees. When it was out of sight they started cheering like guys do.

A lady walked onto the field and tapped Squall on the shoulder. She said something and Squall waved to his friends and left. Margaret probably.

I turned out to be right. It was 6:15 and I walked past the library. Squall was sitting at a large oak table with books piled in front of him, Margaret on the other side reading. He looked at his paper, looked at Margaret then looked back at his paper. What a loser. Can't he even do something as simple as fisheries? 

Yes. I read his task-sheet. It was in the kitchen. He certainly knew how to keep a private life.

I walked past the library and decided to look around myself. Who said I needed him anyway? The palace was pretty big, but I was good at navigating at highschool. I don't know if that's the same thing but I can hope.

When I made it into the garden out the front I decided to mark it as my 'place of peace'. It was huge, green and really lush. Every colour of roses and flowers. Huge trees and plants that towered over the marble path. One of the largest trees had big thick branches and long vine like leaves. It looked easy enough to climb…but I wouldn't go that far. 

" He likes to hang out in that tree"

I turned around. A lady was walking down the path. She smiled when she saw me. I don't think she was the type that would yell at me for being here alone, she looked nice. 

" I'm Ellone, you must Rinoa right?"

She seemed so happy. I shook her hand.

" Yeah…what were you saying before?"

" Squall, he likes to hang out in this tree"

"Oh…"

She laughed. A warm comforting laugh. I almost felt like laughing with her.

" Im supposed to be meeting him here soon"

" Yeah he's with Margaret in the library"

She nodded. I liked her dress sense. She had a brown business shirt on with a white undercloth and a long brown skirt. Her brown wavy hair was out and curled slightly around the edges.

" Are you supposed to be his nanny?"

She really laughed then. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. I mean she didn't look anything like a nanny, but I figured that he would have a nanny…he had to.

" No, no I'm his cousin" She still couldn't help but giggle a little.

I figured she was about 20 something.

" How old are you?"

"26"

Squall came trudging down the path, but he lightened up when he saw Ellone.

" Elle! He ran up to her and gave her a huge hug. He was smiling and looked 'real' happy. I guessed they had a good connection…or something.

" Long time no see huh kiddo? How have you been?"

I walked away not wanting to spoil their reunion. I liked Ellone and hoped I would see her more. Maybe I could make a friend in this place. 

" Hey!"

Oh great. Not him.

"Yeah?"

" Ellone was saying that she spoke with your dad. Said he was going to come tomorrow"

" Oh…ok"

I continued my walk in the garden. I liked the way the lights made the plants shine. Squall didn't get the message and ran in front of me to block my path.

" I spoke with Laguna before I came here, you know what he said?"

He had that cheeky smile on again and his voice was mocking me. I folded my arms and returned the look.

" No, what did he say?"

" The ball. It on next month and I have to go. Except I have to go with a partner. Every time the ball is on Mitch gets some girl to tag along with me. It's always some stupid snob. Anyway this time he paired me with you. Your dad even agreed to it"

" You're kidding right?"

"No why would I be"

" I can't believe this. So I'm supposed to go to this ball thing in a…hang on…a month. So does that mean I'm-"

"-Yep you're staying here for about a month"

" No way!!!!"

He laughed a little and walked past me, back to the palace. He was grinning so happily I swear I could have killed him with the little lasers of hate coming from my eyes. Who the hell did he think he was anyway? He did not own me.

I got frustrated. " Hey!" I yelled back at him. " I'm not done with you!"

" Talk about it more at dinner. Time to eat. Come on"

I had to admit. I was starving and the meals here were obviously going to be upper class. That, I could look forward to. I ran after him and followed him to the dining hall. I prayed there was no caviar. I hate caviar.

We got to the dining room. T he table was huge. It had about 8 chairs on each side. Squall sat at a chair that was two spaces from the end. Basically meaning he just sat anywhere and didn't give a damn.

I sat opposite him and waited. He didn't seem to notice me at all, just leaned back on his chair and looked at the ceiling. Mostly at the enormous chandelier. 

When the food arrived I was amazed. Garlic bread. Pizza, lasagna, stew, pies, sausage rolls, spaghetti. Everything I loved. Squall chuckled a bit. " Italian night" He whispered.

When we finished eating, in silence too, I went straight to be. I was in a separate little place, like an apartment. I had my own little bathroom and a place to sit and watch television. And of course a huge queen-sized bed. All to myself. 

A/n: Well I hope you like this chapter. Thankyou soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much to everybody that had given me a review. It means so much to me! So please everybody try to leave a review if you can and let me know what you thought. Thanks!


	5. The Meaning of 'Holiday'

The Way Life Mocks Me 

My Second day at the Presidential palace was one of those days that are so boring you know your going to forget it the next day, but you end up remembering it. Because of how boring it really was. I was ready to jump out the window in an attempt to get rid of the boredom.

Mitch gave me the task of helping the maids fix up all the linen in the bedrooms. He said it would help me get better acquainted with the palace. Yeah right. I think I finally understood why Squall seemed to hate him so much.

I didn't see Squall at all for three days until Mitch told me to meet him in the dining area.

Squall P.O.V

I was on school holidays. School 'holidays'. Does anyone in this world know what the word 'holidays' means? I'd give out my t.v for first prize. Any takers? Come on. That's gotta be better than anything The Wheel of Fortune is giving away. 

Why am I so grumpy? Because I have to take miss 'I'm too Good for You' out around Esthar with Dave and Jenny. Show her the sights, they said, make sure she has a good time. Yeah, whatever. She was supposed to be meeting me here but she was late. By about nearly half an hour. I had a life too…well kinda.

When I was about to leave and forget the whole stupid thing, she turned up. Red faced and panting. 

" I got lost"

Aw. Poor thing, hasn't anyone shown you around yet?

" Yeah whatever, anyway the reason Mitch called you here, and by the way your late, is because you have to go with me and friends around Esthar"

" Sorry…go around Esthar? What like a little tour with you and your buddies?"

" Yeah, a tour, whatever you wanna call it. My 'buddies' are Dave and Jenny"

" When do we leave, and do I have to go?"

" We're leaving tomorrow…and yes you have to come, Laguna and your dad organized it"

She grumbled and clearly didn't look happy…but did I care? No. Why did I have to. Laguna and the general had decided to 'organize' a lot of things for her and me. What was this, a dating show? I hadn't even told Dave and Jenny about this whole thing, and I really did wonder about their reaction.

She was still there. Did she ever get the message?

" Um…who's driving?" She asked, in a kind of tone that said 'nervous'.

" Well not me…Dave is driving"

" You don't have a license?"

" I'm not aloud, I have a bike though…but I don't have a license for that either. I am learning though. Dave gives me lessons every now and then"

She laughed a little.

" And Mitch lets you takes lessons?"

"No…that's why I do"

" Right, ok, anyway are you going to tell me about Jenny and Dave or am I going to have to learn myself?"

Yeah I liked that idea the best, but I didn't want her to embarrass me by bombarding them with questions.

" Dave's real name is Irvine, but don't call him that, he hates it. Jenny's real name is Selphie, but don't call her that either. They don't seem to like their real names much…err anyway you'll get to know them more later"

She seemed unhappy with my response and sighed over-dramatically. I mentally told myself to start packing soon and packing light, because her being a girl meant she would pack twice as much as me. Really. It's scientifically proven. 

Thankfully she walked out. I noticed her bumping into Ellone as she left. Ellone had that look on her face that she gave me when she was getting me ready for public appearances or something stupid that involves a suit. Oh yeah, the ball. She loves buying outfits and getting ready. She gets all girly.

Ellone's always been there for me. Laguna has never acted like a father toward me. He thinks I'm a burden. Ellone on the other hand has been my big sister…or the mother I never got to have. She loves me to bits and always has stories to tell me from her travels. Corny I know, but I really love her. She means a lot to me and no matter how much she likes me to gel my hair up or tuck my shirt in, I always will.

I suppose the whole me hating Laguna thing started when I was pretty young. I used to call him Lasagna when I was about four. He really hated it. And I knew it too. I knew from the beginning that he didn't want to have me and considered me an outcast. Ellone was away most of the time and I never really saw her that often, but it was great when I did. Laguna orders her around more lately and we don't spend time together as much. Anyway…I hate lasagna too. It tastes like paste.

I figured this was the best time to tell Dave and Jenny about my 'plans'. So I grabbed the phone on the kitchen bench.

"…Hello?"

"Dave, its me"

" Oh hey, haven't heard from ya"

"Yeah sorry, been busy. Um listen Laguna and the general organized for me to take Rinoa around Esthar and-"

" I have to drive?"

"…Yeah, sorry"

" No worries, its fine, can Jenny come?"

" Yeah sure, she's a good tour guide when she wants to be"

"Heheh, ok is this happening tomorrow?"

"Yep, can you meet us round the back?"

" Sure seeya…at six"

"Bye"

I grinned happily. I had purposely agreed to Dave coming at six. That meant the princess had to get up early. Fine for me though…I'm always up at five.

Authors Note: hmmm I think this chapter may be just a little bit too short…but I'm really trying to get into the story. Oh and The Wheel of Fortune doesn't belong to me. I don't own it ok? So don't sue me. Please?

Please leave a review…I'm desperate for opinions…Thankyou for reading!!!!


	6. Shopping Malls, Rattling Trains and Smil...

Rinoa P.O.V 

I was woken up at the earliest hour of the morning by Squall grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking the living daylights out of me.

" Rise and shine princess"

He opened up the curtains to let the morning glare come pouring into my room. He left the room with his evil grin.

I'll kill him. I swear it.

I had a quick hot shower and dressed pretty quickly. Last night I had packed everything so I was ready straight away. 

Squall was in the kitchen sending a text message to someone on his mobile. That's when it clicked. Danni! I completely forgot to ring her!

I grabbed my bag off the table and dialed in her number.

"Hello?"

"Danni! It's me. I'm so sorry I didn't call when I got here"

" Oh Rinoa! Well you should be ya big meanie! So…is he hot? Come on! Gimmi the goss!"

"What Squall?"

"Yes him! The presidents son!"

" Well…ok so he is kinda cute…""

" Whoa! Rinoa I envy you! I've gotta go anyway, but keep me updated!"

"But Danni! I just rang"

" Sorry gotta go"

She hung up. I had managed to call her and she hung up on me. Well its what I would have expected if it weren't so early. So I typed a text message to her instead. I was pretty sure she wouldn't send back, but I wanted to her get my point of view…

_Yeah ok, so he's cute. But that's not the point. He's always moody and doesn't talk to me very nicely and really he's just some no good snobby, rich kid who doesn't have a care for anything, especially me. So don't get ANY ideas. _ 

That would definitely set the record straight. I didn't send it yet. Squall had gone upstairs so I put my mobile on the bench and grabbed some cereal. I wanted to send it when I knew she would be expecting it. Which was probably in about half an hour. She was so readable.

This is when the unfortunate event came by. It all started with Squall running into the kitchen, talking on his mobile and speaking as if he just won the world cup at rugby or something. Not that I know that much about rugby anyway. I didn't catch his conversation because he ran out into the garden downstairs. I wanted to know so I left the kitchen and went into the garden.

He hung up his mobile the minute I found him. 

" What was that about?" I asked curiously, but not to sound too interested.

" Oh, that was Jenny…don't worry about it, anyways we're leaving in about…five minutes so get your stuff out round the back near the tennis court. Dave will be there soon"

I saluted mockingly and walked back up to my room. All my 'stuff' was on my bed in a duffle bag. I picked it up and slung it over my shoulder. Before I left I remembered makeup so I left my bag near the door and ran to bathroom. 

Squall was already there when I got to the tennis courts. There was a small road leading around the whole presidential palace and it led back through the main gates and out into Esthar. Squall was wearing a navy blue jacket over a red shirt. He looked well suited for the weather…which was very cold. When he saw me he motioned for me to come over.

" Hey, Dave should be here any minute now, don't get too comfy"

I threw my bag down next to him as answer and lied down on the grass. That got me thinking about what type of car Dave had. Maybe a Ferrari…or an awesome sports car. Maybe even a flash red convertible or some wondrous car I had never even heard of. 

It turned out he drove…a bluebird? A nice, but small blue car drove up next to us. Some loud music was playing, Metallica I think, but I wasn't sure. How ever, the paint job on the car was top notch.

Squall got in on the passenger seat and got into the back. The girl I saw down on the oval playing with Squall and Dave was there too.

"Hey, I'm Jenny"

I smiled back and introduced myself. Dave swung himself around to face me.

" Dave, nice to meet ya"

I shook his hand and we drove off.

" Dave! For cryin out loud, change the music!" Jenny yelled.

Dave e and Squall rolled their eyes and turned the music off, trying to decide what to put on. Jenny eventually chose a song called 'In Too Deep' by Sum 41. It was pretty good.

Jenny got out a makeup kit and started fixing her makeup. We drove out of the presidential palace and out into the main road. Dave and Squall were talking about a baseball game and Jenny was telling about Esthar. She said the shopping is best near the Hospital area and the best place to buy shoes is at the 'Your Size' shoe shop. She told me all the best makeup places and the ways to get past the booze bus that the police set up every night near the shops.

Our first stop was at…you guessed it…the shopping mall near the Hospital area. 

The parking area was packed and it took us a good ten minutes to get a spot. I grabbed my wallet and followed them in.

Not in all cinemas' showing the latest Matrix film or the hottest new chick flick had I ever seen so many people. There were five levels. Stairs on one side and five escalators on the other side. We took he escalator up to the second level and went to a tourist shop; luckily there weren't many people there.

Dave got my a dozen brochures and Squall asked the assistant for a map of central Esthar to give me. I was actually enjoying myself. 

I ended up spending 'a lot' of money on our shopping trip and I was expecting to go back to the palace, but instead we were going to a special place that they hung out. The Cazma Drink n Pool Pub. A strange name, but a great place. 

It was like one of those pub restaurants except the restaurant was on the other side. The pub area smelt like cigarette smoke and had plenty of 'tough looking' people in it. But, Dave and Squall knew them all. We ordered some drinks and started talking.

"So…do you guys come here often?" I asked

" Yeah as often as we can…after Jenny has her shopping sessions" Dave replied

Jenny shot him a look and he shut up.

I turned to Squall. 

" What about Mitch? Does he really let you go here?"

" No…" He answered, " We tell him we're going to the baseball game or shopping for school…stuff like that"

They all smiled evilly and I think I was on my way to understanding Squall. 

They told me about the pool competitions that go on in the pub and Jenny and I had a game with some girls that came in and Squall and Dave sat with some mates. I had great time, really, which I thought at the start was going to be impossible. 

We stayed at a hotel that night and had pizza. In the morning at about 10 am or so we left to go to the outskirts of Esthar. I was desperate to see the Lunar Station so we took a train there. 

The train trip was long but awesome. It wasn't a slow and boring train, it was fast one that rattled a lot. Jenny sang a train song that went somewhere along the lines of " Train, Train take us away… to the future we will go" It was irritating and annoying so Squall, Dave and I went to he back of the train and sat outside. I let my hair out and enjoyed the wind flapping my hair about like a Shakira video clip. 

I didn't want the train to stop but like all trains do, it stopped. We got off at the Lunar Station and I was awestruck. I didn't say anything because saying, " Wow!" or, " Cool, this is awesome!" Would be an understatement. So we just went inside and I spent about half an hour reading brochures. 

" The Lunar Station transports people up into space so they can go to the special space station and look at the moon!" Said a tour guide. I spun around to see a lady in a blue dress and tie showing some kids around.

" I wanna go to the station and see the moon!" Yelled one of the kids.

We went back outside and waited for the three scientists to be launched into space to go to station and look over Sorceress Adel. A launch was due any minute now and I was told the launch was spectacular.

It was. Three small pods were thrown out into the sky; flying so fast they left as quickly as they came, heading upwards. When they gone, I turned to look at Squall. He looked back at me smiled sweetly. I smiled back nervously and Dave jumped up and announced the train was here. 

A/N: Another chapter done. Wow. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and read the story so far. Oh and Shakira and the Matrix doesn't belong to me. 


	7. Special questions need Special answers

The Way Life Mocks Me Chapter 7 

Special questions need special answers

Squall P.O.V 

We spent the night at a hotel close to the shopping mall. It was a cheap but nice hotel with a balcony that came with most of the rooms up the top. We got the balcony, of course.

It was on this balcony outside our 3-bedroom hotel room that Rinoa and I talked for the first time. Yeah, we actually 'talked'. Take the word 'talked' into consideration.

I don't remember what made me go outside and sit on the balcony, looking at the stars, but there I was. Hoping for a shooting star to come flying across the sky in my vision so I could plant wish on it and know it would never come true. That's when she walked out into the crisp night air and sat next to me. We just sat there, looking at the sky, not saying a word until she finally spoke.

" So, do you come out like this often?"

"Yeah, its nice to…hope for something that's not real"

"Huh?"

I had said something even I didn't understand. Probably the whole thought of wishing on a shooting star. How could I answer? I didn't want to get all mushy.

" Oh never mind, I say strange things a lot, as you've probably noticed already"

She laughed and nodded her head. I laughed with her and realized just how carefree we were acting.

"So…Squall, tell me about yourself. I've been here for a while now and I know nothing about you. Your supposed to be my guide, I'm your guest remember?"

He voice wasn't cruel or insulting, it was just chirpy and…nice…?

" What do you want to know about me?"

"Have you always lived at the presidential palace?"

"Of course I have. Laguna is my real dad, he was president before I was born, that's why I'm the problem in his life"

"So what about your mother? What happened to her?"

"She was just Laguna's girlfriend, they made a mistake and I was born. As soon as I was in the picture, she left. I don't even know her name. No one wants to tell me anything about her. Probably Laguna's orders"

She looked down to ground and mumbled a "sorry". I didn't mind talking about my mother. I had never met her so what's there to be sad about? 

" Hey, do you have a nanny, you know a personal maid or something?"

Unusual, I was told she had a housemaid, why was she so interested in me having one.

"Yeah, her names Quistis…she's on a holiday at the moment…don't you have one too?"

"Yeah, I do…"

That awkward silence. Heck I was used to it. There was this little thing at the back of my mind that was nagging at me to tell her, but I didn't want to spoil our 'chat'.

I heard some music from inside and got up to leave but Rinoa grabbed my arm.

"Hey wait, cant we talk a little more"

" Uh…I have to do a few things and…yeah alright I'll stay"

It was strange. I agreed to stay, probably because me having a few things to do was a lie.

"So" She asked, " What school do you go to?"

" Bentlak Senior High, It's not a big top school but its pretty good"

" Oh, I would have thought you'd choose a really top school, you know"

"Nah" I answered, " I prefer Bentlak"

"You seem to do lot of things that I would have thought a person on your position wouldn't do"

" You should judge people on who they are not what they are…" I whispered.

She looked down and seemed almost ashamed. I hadn't meant to be harsh.

"Well tell me about you, come on I wanna know"

She lifted her head.

" My mother works at a law firm. She's a barrister. I see her every now and then but not as often as I would like. Dad, well you know, he's the Galbadian general"

"What about your school?"

" It's the top school in Deling. Deling City Senior High"

I nodded and looked back up to the sky. I had this burning question and I just couldn't help but let it slip.

" What's it like…to have a mother?"

She seemed shocked at the question and looked at me. I continued to stare at the sky just praying that she would answer without asking why. I knew so little about her and she still didn't have a clue who I really was. It was normal for moments like this to be awkward.

"Well…" She began, " I always look up to her"

She was picking her words carefully, I could tell.

" I mean, she says things that dad just wouldn't understand. Not just because where both female, but she helps me with answers about general life because ever since I was a child, my mother has always been the one that came when I stubbed my toe or cut my finger. It's just a special bond…I think it's the same with all mothers…"

I think her own words shocked her. I was glad to hear her say what she did. But it made me realize just what I had missed out on.

"Its alright", I told her, " Thanks for telling me. No one ever really does talk me about their mother"

Jenny came bursting in. Her hair was all over the place and the music blared loudly in the background as she swung open the glass door.

" Hey you two! Rinoa your dad's on the phone"

Rinoa smiled and jumped up. She looked to me and smiled.

" Thanks Squall" She whispered.

When they both went inside I look back up to night sky once more and I swear it…I saw a shooting star.

Authors Note: Wow! Sorry if this chapter was a bit…for lack of better words, bland and short. But I really hope I got a bit of Rinoa and Squall's history confirmed. More will be revealed!

Thankyou to all who reviewed! Please leave a review and ask me anything and I'll be sure to get it answered for ya! 


	8. Roses and Pool?

 The Way Life Mocks Me Chapter 8 

Roses and Pool?

Remember when I typed a message to Danni about Squall? Well when we got back to the Presidential Palace, I decided to delete the message and not send it all. The problem was…I had left my mobile on the kitchen bench staring anyone up in the face with the message written on it. I was lucky though, because I found it in my room on the small brown desk.

The text message was still displayed on the screen and it hadn't been sent. I quickly deleted it and typed a new message.

_Hi Danni, I'm really sorry I haven't called you, I've been busy. Esthar is awesome. Squall and his friends, Dave and Jenny, took me on a tour. I'll talk to you soon. Bye. _ 

I sent it straight away and threw myself onto the bed. It was almost noon and I wasn't too hungry so I went down to the garden, stopping to say "Hi" to the many maids and butler's as I passed. When I got there I ran to the section full of roses. Ellone was there with a small blue bucket and pliers. She was cutting roses off. 

"Hey! Ellone, what are up to?"

She seemed startled but span around and greeted me with a familiar smile.

"Rinoa, welcome back, I'm just picking some roses to make some pot pouri, how was the trip?"

We talked for a while, and then I helped her pick the roses. She said I could pick a bunch to put in my room. So I managed to have a long chat with her and fill the rooms in the palace with roses. She grabbed a bunch of white roses and handed them to me.

" Could you give these to Squall? He said he was going to come down here earlier to get them but he got caught up. He wants to use them for something…don't ask me"

I laughed and waved goodbye. Finding Squall would be hard, but I started at his room.

When I came to his room I knocked on the door. I heard some shuffling then he opened the door. 

" Yeah?"

" Ellone said to give these to you…"

He gasped and put his hand on his mouth, cursing to himself then gratefully took them from me.

" Thanks…I forgot to grab em'"

"Who are they for?"

"Dave, he wants to give them to Jenny when he asks her to go to the ball with him…he shouldn't have to even ask, she knows she going with him, they go every year"

 " Oh, I didn't know they were going…"

"Yeah, I'm aloud to pick one couple to go each year and I always pick them"

" Oh, that's nice…so am I still your date-I mean partner…"

He grinned in that cheeky way again and I wish I hadn't said anything.

" Of course "

We both went down and had lunch together and Squall told me about how our father's were working together on a new peace agreement between Galbadia Esthar and Trabia. There had been a war recently between Esthar and Trabia. Something about land ownership. I was all considered stupid so they decided to get together to form an agreement. I guess that's why it was taking so long. President Laguna and my dad had become pretty good friends and so its not surprising they hooked me up with Squall for the ball. 

Dave and Jenny were going down to the oval for some baseball practice with Squall and they wanted me to come. So I followed them down and helped Jenny run after all the balls that went flying in all corners of the oval. It was in my best interest to make friends with Jenny, so after practice she and I sat down on a shady part of the oval for a short chat session.

She grinned evilly and leaned in close.

" So…what do you reckon…Squall or Irvine?"

"What?"

She laughed and fell back laying out on the grass. A piece of stray hair blew into her face but she dismissed it with a blow. 

" Who do you prefer…Squall or Irvine?"

Wasn't she going out with Irvine? If I said Irvine she might get mad…but if I say Squall she'll get ideas…

"What do 'you' think?"

She seemed surprised.

" I like Irvine silly, but Squall is such a sweetie. Don't you agree?"

I nodded half-heartedly. Like I said I didn't want her getting any ideas…or did I?

I guess she noticed my inability to talk about it so she changed the subject.

" What does your dress look like?"

The Ball! I didn't even have a dress…

" I don't have a dress yet…"

Her mouth gaped open and I could tell she didn't expect that answer.

"What!? Ok Ellone and I will go down with you tomorrow and get you one. I think she said she had a few good ones on hold. Oh! But I saw this one down at the mall when we out shopping and it was just soooo gorgeous you have…"

She just went on and on and on. I think her mind was working in over time. 

So I think from our conversation I managed to figure out that I would be going to the shops with her and Ellone to get a dress. I didn't catch the rest of her speech…

The boys saved me by taking us out to the pub again and having dinner there. I played pool and got on a team with Squall and Mike. Jenny and Irvine teamed with a guy called Pink…

Of course my team won and we were shouted some drinks. Even though I didn't really contribute much to the score…not my fault…I have no idea how to play pool!

Squall took some time to teach me the rules and a few basic tips. He said next time he would show me a few sneaky tips.

At about 3:00 in the morning we drove back to the presidential palace and slept the night off. 

Ellone came and woke me at 10:00 am and announced that Jenny, her and I were going to the mall in half an hour. Dress shopping. When I was ready I met them at the back.

Ellone drove and Jenny and I looked at road maps to find out the best places to shop.

This will definitely be fun…

Authors note! Hell yea! Thanx 4 everyone who's reading and reviewing and special thanx to my two buddies Bridget and Marcell. You guys rock.


	9. One of a Kind

The Way Life Mocks Me Chapter 10 

One of Kind

Rinoa P.O.V (duh) heehehehe

We visited about 10 deferent dress shops and in each one Ellone and Jenny would be unimpressed. They would say something like, " No its just not…special enough!" or " No I'm sure everyone else would have one like that!" So our shopping day eventually, sadly, strangely turned to night. We were at a spirits end when Ellone came across a small dress shop in the mall next Jenny's favorite.

The lady in the store was particularly nice and showed us pictures of over 50 dresses and the dresses that had been bought already. But when we almost left, she told us to come around the back.

" I do have one dress I was keeping for next winter's big speech night but…I suppose you can have a look to see if you're interested…"

This got Jenny and Ellone extremely excited and we followed her out back. She brang out the dress and I think I had already made up my mind.

It was a black, body hugging ball dress with a white, satin, flowing skirt. Gorgeous!

When I walked out of the change room, dressed in my selected dress, all three girls squealed happily, jumping up and down on the spot. 

" Its perfect!"

" Finally!"

" A match!"

They each told me a few comments on how gorgeous I looked and then we bought it. Not surprisingly! Our shopping day…or night came to an end and we drove all the way back to the presidential palace with my new dress.

It wasn't late but I was tired and went to bed. I didn't wake up until five in the morning. Ellone had gone out to help the president with something and Jenny and Dave had gone home. I found Squall in the garden. He was trying to water the roses, miserably failing and ended up watering himself. 

" Didn't you have a shower this morning?" I asked.

" Yeah I did, but hey, the roses don't have to get all the fun do they?" 

" Well maybe you could let me give you a hand"

" Sure thing" He handed the hose over to me and stepped back. I professionally watered them and handed it back to him, by that time he had fallen asleep at the base of some daises.

"Ahem…"

He jolted awake and looked up skeptically.

" Did you really water them…or did you just pay some poor beggar to do it?"

" What…?"

He shook his head mumbling, 'don't worry' and stood up. I handed him the hose and followed him back inside. While I waited for him to come back down to the kitchen after getting dried, I looked around a bit.

I picked up a few photo albums, one of which that showed Dave, Jenny and Squall as little six year olds playing in a sand pit. I giggled to myself and continued looking. The rest of the photos were old boring ones that showed the presidential palace when it was first built.

Squall came back down and caught me off guard.

" You know Laguna can give you a three hour speech on how the builders didn't listen to his father properly when they designed this place"

I whirled around and smirked at him.

" Oh really?"

"Uh huh…"

We paused for a while but interrupted when we heard someone yelling at the top of their lungs.

" Squally!!!!"

Squall went pale and turned around.

" Squally! I haven't seen you in the looooongest time!"

It was a very tall lady with golden blonde hair tied up in a tight bun.

" Hi Quisty…"

She ran over and gave Squall a hug then walked over to me and shook my hand.

" Hi Rinoa! I'm Quistis, you know the maid! If you need help with aaaaaanything at all just ask ok?"

I felt I could trust her so I nodded and smiled as sweetly as I could. She seemed satisfied and walked up the stairs talking to herself.

I heard Squall say "Phew" and walked back outside.

" You'll love her even though she can smother you at times" he told me.

" I'm sure I'll get used to it"

" So…did you get a dress? The ball is in a week you know"

"Yeah, I got one…one of a kind"

He nodded and then walked back in again.

" I have to go do lesson's I'll see you later"

" Yeah ok…seeya"

A/N: Ok…easily the most boring chapter so far. You don't have to leave a review if you don't want to. Trust me, the next chapter will be good, it's the ball next!! Woo-Hoo!


	10. The Ball!

The Way Life Mocks Me chapter 10 (pssst I'm not sure if they italic's in this chapter will show ok so bear with me) 

The Ball!

"A…a…choo!"

Oh no. Half an hour until I'm meant to be going to the ball and I'm getting a cold. Oh please. I grabbed my extra towel off the bed and wrapped in around my wet hair. Rubbing it around furiously in an attempt to dry it, I grabbed my comb off the table and started brushing it.

"Ouch…ouch…ouch…Ow!"

The comb caught on my hair. I tugged at it, putting my foot on the dresser to balance myself. It came loose and I fell to floor in a heap.

" Just get dressed," I growled to myself." Get dressed"

My dress hung from the closet. Carefully I took it down. I was dry now so slid my dress on and enjoyed the silky feeling of the white, flowing skirt. Someone knocked at the door.

" Hey Rinoa! Its me Ellone, do you need an help?"

" Er yes please!"

Ellone walked in and laughed. She told me a few things about not breaking the brush while doing your hair because it sets a bad image…or something like that. She brushed my hair and applied makeup. I had decided to be drastic and instead of getting my long dark hair tied up all fancy…I cut it. The hairdresser did a good job. It was just above my shoulders and layered to sit neatly around my face. Ellone brushed some glitter through my hair and I was done.

"Finally…"

Ellone and I walked out into the hallway near the elevator. Jenny was there waiting for us. She was wearing a _very short _silver dress with a fluffy, white shawl. Her perky hair was tied up like a flowing waterfall.

"Rinny! You look gorgeous! The boys should be here soon"

She gave me a wink when she said 'boys'. 

"Ok you guys have fun ok?" Ellone said.

I frowned. " Aren't you coming?"

" No I have a meeting to attend to in Galbadia tomorrow morning so I'm leaving tonight…ill see you later!" She walked into the elevator and left us alone.

I sighed. The boys were taking their sweet time.

" Hey Jenny, what are the 'boys' wearing?"

She smiled evilly. " Well they're just wearing plain suits, not tuxedo's…or as I call them, penguin suits"

I smiled. Phew I couldn't stand to see Squall and Irvine in a penguin suit. We heard someone or something stomping up the stairs. It turned out to be Quistis. She ran up to us both and hugged us. She was wearing a long red, body hugging dress. 

" Omigosh! You two look…perfect!. Those boys are going to be so stunned they wont know what to say!" We beamed at her comments and smiled shyly. Quistis was interrupted by someone whistling behind her. 

You know in movies when people see something so amazing, their jaw drops? Well I never believed in stuff like that. Until know, because my jaw dropped. Squall's did too. 

Dave and Squall stood by the elevator in their suits looking…gorgeous. Dave smiled his cheesy smile and walked up to Jenny, giving her a big hug. 

" Well…your looking…good" Squall muttered. I smiled and raised an eyebrow, " So are you" We stood there looking at each other for a while until Quistis broke the silence.            "Ok kids lets go! We don't want to keep them waiting do we!"

We had to walk down a large staircase in couples and into the ballroom. Dave and Jenny went first. When I walked down with Squall I was truly amazed. In the center was a large dance floor filled with people next to a stage. Tables were scattered around the sides and one thing that I thought was the best was the giant chandelier and the ice sculptures. 

When we reached the bottom we walked up to Dave and Jenny. " Well what do you think?" Jenny asked me. " It's…great. I've never been to a ball before and this is…is…beyond my expectations. Honestly!" She laughed with me and we walked over to one of the tables. 

I met up with a lot of Ellone's friends and had a quick chat. But mostly I walked around with Jenny. I sat down at a table with her. " So Jenny…I've been meaning to talk to you about…um…your name" She smiled and leaned in closer. " You mean my real name" She giggled and started explaining. " I know it sounds a bit um…crazy…but Dave and I are on a witness protection program" I gasped, " No way!" She nodded. " Yep. Our real names are Irvine and Selphie. You see about 3 years ago a guy named Johnston Steel was killed down near the Mall we went to. Dave and I were the only witnesses and the killer is still out there, he was never found. So we had to change our names and everything. It's kinda strange though because the killer didn't see us at all"

" Wow…so who else knows about this?"

" Um Squall, you and Mitch I think" Squall and Dave decided to join us. Dave took Jenny's hands in his.

" Hey ladies", he said, " There's a good song coming on now, how's about we go for a dance?" 

Jenny and I looked at each other grinning from ear to ear. 

" Sure why not!" She yelled. Squall took my hand and led me out on the dance floor. It was a slow song so I put my hands around his shoulders.

It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart 

_Without saying a word, you can light up dark_

_Try as I may I could never explain_

_What I hear when you don't say a thing…_

I looked over at Jenny and Dave. Both with their eyes closed and holding on to each other tightly. " Don't they look cute" I whispered.

The smile on your face lets me know that you need me 

_There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me_

_The touch of your hand says you'll catch me, wherever I fall_

_You say it best…when you say nothing at all_

Squall turned around to look at them. " Yeah they do…" 

" Hey, what time does this ball finish?" I asked.

" Er…midnight usually"

All day long I can hear people talking out loud 

_But when you hold me near, you drown out the crowd_

_Try as they may, they can never define, what's been said between your heart and mine_

" So…I guess your going back home soon huh?" I nodded, " Yeah soon…but I've had a really good time here you know. I didn't expect I would, but I did…thanks" 

" Hey no problem…I had a good time too and Jenny and Dave definitely did. Jenny wants to go visit you some time"

" Really? Cool"

_The smile on your face,_

_The truth in your eyes_

_The touch of your hand_

Lets me know that you need me 

The song ended and we returned to our table. We were all pretty quite until Quistis came along. She sat down and started talking about the ice sculptures melting all over the pastry or something. I sat there listening for a while until I spotted someone.

" Dad!"

Squall turned to me. " What's wrong?"

" Oh nothing I'm just going to go see my dad ok"

"Ok"

Dad was talking with a bunch of men in penguin suits and I saw the president there too.

I walked up gracefully ( trying not to act too over graceful) and stood next to him.

" Hi Dad. Nice to see this evening"

He turned to face me and smiled giving me a quick hug" Nice to see you too sweetie…gentlemen this is my daughter Rinoa. Rinoa these are the men I'm talking to about the peace treaty" I shook their hands and tried my best smiles. I didn't like them much but hey, I had to make an impression. 

" Ah…miss heartily" The president smiled at me, " She's been very well behaved and helping out around the palace a lot. A lovely daughter you have there general"

They started talking again and I had no idea what the conversation was about but I did catch dad saying that I was leaving in about 2 weeks. 

I walked (or skipped) back to our to our table and told them the good news. 

A/N: Hey I've got all of my fics updated today! So if you can check them out, 

Run  My Story (ff 10)  Damn the Red Pill  woo-hoo! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and said such encouraging words! Really brings a tear to my eye…sniff sniff lol

Well please review again and tell me what you thought of the ball! Oh and I knew the whole 'witness protection' thing was a bit outrageous but I got myself in a bit of pickle and it was the only way out.


	11. Raine

The Way Life Mocks Me 

Chapter 11

Of all of the fancy balls that I have ever been to, this one was the best. Why? Because I actually had a good a time. Rinoa wasn't like the other girls. She didn't spend her time trying to flirt with me or tell me all about herself. She danced, talked, joked and generally had fun. We had a pretty good time laughing at the 60 year old women in tight, cleavage showing dresses and the men looking thoughtfully at them…the top portion.

So there I was. Walking along the main corridor. It was about 7 am. That's when the 'incident' occurred. I bumped into a lady. She came rushing into me by accident. We had a full on collision. She went one way ad I went the other.

From what she was wearing I could tell she was a business women. Brown hair like mine and a stack of papers in he arms…well they were in her arms. Now they were scattered all over the ground. 

" Oh…I'm so sorry" She muttered. It fell on deaf ears. I had been frozen on the spot. Her face. She was so familiar. I knew her but…I had never seen her before in my life. Her hair….eyes…face, well just her! How could I have never met her before…but _'feel' _as if I know I her?

Had I known her as a child? I had seen a lot of people come and go…but she was different. Not only did she look so damn familiar, but she also looked like _me_.

  
I remembered my manners. If I had any that is…

" Oh yeah, I'm sorry too. I wasn't paying attention" I started to help her pick up the papers. 

She seemed pretty transfixed on me too. Staring with an almost bewilded look on her face. Hey…I know I'm cute, but did she have to stare? 

She smiled weakly and stood up. " I have to meet Mitch in the conference room so I'd better go. Nice meeting you"

Nice meeting you? But we never actually _'met'_, we just spoke. Weird.

I walked into the bathroom and splashed some water on my face. I was already scared but Dave still had to rub it in.

" SQUALL!"

"Aaah! Don't do that!"

" Sorry…anyway, guess what this is!"

He held up a piece of paper.

" Is it a confirmation paper saying you have been expelled from school and can roam around Esthar as you please without a care in the world? Please say it is"

" Nah sorry, anyway, you know that university in Deling?"

This wasn't sounding good. Deling. University.

" I GOT IN!"

Definitely not good.

" But Dave that's all the way over in Deling. D-E-L-I-N-G"

I pointed north to make my expression clear.

" Yeah I know…but you know how good this uni is"

He was right. Deling university was originally meant to be built in Esthar. But they built it in Deling because it would give students a better opportunity to travel. 

" Jenny is going as well. She's gonna do her medic course over there…but you have to see how much of an opportunity this is for me an Jenny"

" No no, I'm happy for you both. I'm sorry. I must have sounded pretty selfish but really I am happy. Just a little shocked that's all"

" You'll be fine buddy"

~**~

Laguna called me to go to his office in about half an hour so I walked to the outside in the garden Rinoa was there, so I sat down next to her on the grass. 

" Did you hear about Dave and Jenny?"

" Yeah, heard they're leaving to go uni huh?"

I nodded. It all seemed so unfair. They were leaving and I was staying here. I wasn't aloud to leave Esthar. I already knew which uni I was going to. Even Rinoa would be going soon. She was a friend too.

But…

Did our feelings go deeper than friendship? I really liked her. She was kind but she seemed lonely. Maybe, just maybe she didn't feel so lonely around me. How does she feel? How could I find out?

How do I feel?

Heck I'm just as muddled up as ever. Sometimes I don't even know who I am. I don't have any strong relationships, except for Dave and Jenny. And maybe Rinoa too.

" How do you feel about it?" She asked.

" Well I don't want them to go, but I feel happy they got in"

" Me too"

Somehow hearing her say, 'me too' triggered something. I said the words, ' I feel' and she said ' me too'. Not with the same meaning as I had in mind…but still. How crazy I must sound…I don't know either.

" Rinoa…when are you leaving?"

" Oh, two weeks remember?"

"Yeah…" 

I remembered my 'appointment' with Laguna.

" Sorry Rin I have to go" 

I got up and headed for his office.

~**~

Upon entering I saw the look on Laguna's face and something in my mind told me he had pretty troubling news. He motioned for me to sit down and fumbled with some papers on his desk.

" I believe you met a certain lady today"

" Yeah I bumped into her by accident"

He nodded and folded his arms. 

" She came in and spoke to me earlier. We were talking about you"

" Me?"

" Yes. Her name is Raine"

Raine. I swear I had heard that name before. _Raine._

" I'm not sure if any of the maids have told you but…" I waited. " Your mother…her name was Raine"

No.

" The lady that you bumped into, Raine"

It can't be.

" That was your mother"

My mother?

How?

Why?

When…?

Is that why she was so familiar…because 'she' is mother? No it can't be. But it is.

She is my mother.

Raine…

Author's Notes: Yep. Raine is back! Sorry this chapter took so long for me to post. I've been busy!

As always, please please review!


	12. I'm the Problem

The Way Life Mocks Me 

Chapter 12

I'm the Problem

My knuckles started to turn to white. I was gripping the seat so hard. My breathing came out as quick short breaths. I could see Laguna had his head hung slightly.

Raine.

A sick feeling crept into my stomach. Her eyes, her hair, her face…just like me. No wonder. 

Raine?

I wanted to get out. I wanted to run away from Laguna. He didn't care. He had no sympathy for me at all. Nearly seventeen years I've waited for my mother to come into my life. Now she's here…I hate her.

Rain…?

How could this happen? " Laguna…" My voice came out, as a whisper, shaking, "Is it true? Is it really true?" He nodded. " Squall, she's waiting outside your room, she wants to talk to you. Go now"

She wants to speak to me. I don't know if I wanted to speak her. My eyes started to ache and I knew what was next. I needed to get out of there as quick as possible. I sprinted from the chair, knocking it over, and threw myself out of the office. My legs carried me as far as the hallway. I stood in front of the stairs.

If I go up there, that's where she'll be. Waiting for me. I couldn't face her, not now.

I ran over to the kitchen and grabbed a cool glass of water. It was a dream. I never went to his office, I never spoke to him, I was never told about my mother and I didn't even bump into that lady this morning. Just a dream.

That's what I kept telling myself anyway. 

I literally threw the water down my throat and slammed it back on the bench. So many different thoughts going threw my head at one time. I was getting a major headache. Believe Laguna, don't believe him, go and see her, don't go and see her. 

" Squuuuaaall!" I groaned. Quistis. She ran up behind me, threw her arms around me and lifted me up a good few millimeters. She was pretty small but she had muscle on her.

I was spun around and she clasped her hands on my cheeks. " Sweetie-Pie, Ellone is back, she wants to speak with you in the garden at the tree ok?"

" Mhmm" I hated it when she called me sweetie-pie…ugh. She smiled in 'Quistis' fashion and walked back into the living room. I looked back at the glass on the sink and filled it back up with water. I had drunk about 3 glasses more when I finally decided to go and see Ellone. 

She waiting for me at our tree, just like Quistis said. 

" Hey…" She whispered.

I walked up to her and sighed. Did she know? " Elle…" I began. She shook her head and held her hand out.

" Its ok Squall…I know"

With that said I leaned down into her and she placed her arms around me. " Why elle? Why is she back now?" She thought for a moment before answering.

" She said… she wanted to see you. She told me she felt guilt for leaving and wanted to see you again. And Laguna" 

How could she feel guilty?

" You don't know the whole story Squall. They never wanted to tell you" We sat down and she placed her hands over mine. " When your father first became president, at 18, he met your mother, Raine. They had a relationship going on for quite some time. It had been about a year, and Raine was pregnant. By accident of course. She stayed inside the Palace to avoid the Media…and after you were finally born…she left"

" So…she didn't want to face a life in the palace and having a kid like me?"

" Yeah, she just didn't want the responsibility…I suppose now she does"

That would explain a bit. No wonder Laguna didn't seem to like me much. I was a mistake. But he still kept me here, safe. I have that to thank him for. I'm just glad I didn't end up in some old orphanage. 

" Elle, why wasn't I told this before?"

" I don't know Squall"

We sat in silence for a while. Then I remembered my mother. Waiting outside my bedroom. She was probably gone by now. I thanked Ellone and left the garden. I had to talk to them.

Dave, Jenny and Rinoa were all outside the front. Waiting for me. When they saw me, Jenny waked up to me, giving me a hug. 

" Squall we're so sorry…" They knew as well?

Dave shrugged. " Laguna told us about Raine…sorry man"

Rinoa was standing back, watching us. She probably felt left out. I hadn't known her very well. Maybe she thought it wasn't her place to interfere. 

" Hey guys" I asked. I looked over at Rinoa when I said it. " How about we go out tonight?" They smiled. Rinoa walked up to me and patted me on the back.

" Sounds good"

" I never wanted this happen! If you hadn't left in the first place maybe we wouldn't be having this conversation!"

" Conversation!" She spat. " You call this a conversation? Laguna, you always think yelling and ranting at each other is a conversation do you?"

" Answer my question!"

" Fine! So maybe me leaving wasn't the best idea, but you knew my father! If he had of find out about our problem, he'd kill me!" 

Laguna sat down on his desk. He took of his glasses and placed his fingers to his temples, rubbing them.

" You can take him" He whispered. " It's what you came here for isn't it?"

" I came here to get to know our son Laguna. Not to have him handed over. He is your problem as much as he is mine!"

" Well I can't keep him here anymore! You know he's getting in the way! I'll…just send him off to one of those homes"

" Fine"

Little did they know, I was standing behind the door. Listening to the whole conversation.

Author's Notes: Thankyou for reading again. The next and final chapter will be up next week. Yep, final chapter.

Please review!!!!! I'm desperate! Please please! Help me get my 50th review mark!

Replies. 

**Keiry: **Thankyou for reviewing. Yes, Rinoa is leaving in the next chapter. Sadly. Thankyou for the kind review. 

** Rhi-an****: **Thankyou so much for reviewing! Yes, the whole Irvine and Selphie changing names was a bad idea I think. But I can't change it now. Oh well. I'm glad your enjoying it! Thankyou!

**Billie the wild angel: **Yeah, I like that song too! I found on a real old cd of my brothers. I'll have to thank him later. Thanks for the review. 

**Old User: **Yay! I'm glad you think it's a cool story! Thanks!

Sorry I couldn't reply to you all. But I will reply to everyone who has reviewed the story next chapter. I just wanted to thank these four, they reviewed, chapter 10 and 11. 


	13. A Dying Future

The Way Life Mocks Me 

Chapter 13

A dying Future

As a quick warning, this is kinda angsty. Well just look at the rating and you'll know.

So what do I have to look forward to? Dave and Jenny are both leaving to go to Deling. I can't go with them of course, I'm stuck here. Rinoa will be going back home real soon and I'll probably never see her again. Plus to top it all off, my…father…wants to send me away. My mother is a total…I wont say it.

When I heard them talking in the office. I was fuming. How dare they! How dare they call me 'a problem'? I heard them loud and clear. ' You can take him, its what you're here for', ' He is your problem as much as he is mine!', ' He's getting in the way!'

What the hell?

I could say that up until now, my life was going ok for me. But I cant. My life has been as screwed up as ever and now this event is just icing on the cake.

I slowly rose my sitting position next to the door and started walking down the hallway. If they don't like me, if they think I'm in the way, fine, I'll go.

I walked up the stairs casually, hoping to not make too much of a disturbance. I didn't want anyone getting suspicious. Unfortunately I ran into Dave.

" Hey!"

I spun around. He waved and jogged up the stairs.

" Hey man…" He gasped. " Jenny, me, Rinoa and you are gonna go out to the pub tonight ok? You feel up to it?"

I nodded.

" Alright…so meet at the back, you know the normal place"

I nodded again.

" Is it just me or have you decided to go mute?"

I shrugged. " Nah…I'm just feelin a little down you know?"

He nodded this time. " Yeah I can understand…anyway…I guess I'll meet ya there then aye?"

" Sure"

He smiled and jogged back down the stairs. If only he knew…

I shook my head and walked to my room. Once I was safely inside I let out my breath. Was I really going to go through with this? Yes…I definitely was. 

As soon as I had stepped away from the door, someone knocked. I groaned. Probably Dave.

But it wasn't…it was Raine. I slammed the door shut but she caught it and stepped in. 

" Squall I need to talk to you"

" Well I don't want to talk to you, get out"

She sighed and closed the door, taking a step closer to me. She was staring at me again. Analyzing me to see whether I looked more like him or her.

I turned around. " I said get out"

" Oh, so you hate me? But why, I've done nothing wrong to you Squall. Why are you being like this?"

She's done nothing wrong. Whatever.

" You have done all the wrong, _Raine, _now please, get…out"

Yet still she remained where she was. I crossed my arms and looked up at the ceiling. I really did not need this now. Why wouldn't she just leave!

" I'm not going Squall, I would like to set some things straight with you"

For some reason I really didn't like her tone.

" I was talking with Laguna," she said. " He's going to send you away unless you choose to come with me. I live in outer Esthar. Really I don't see that you have a choice in this. You are coming with me. So I'm terribly sorry for any inconvenience boy, but that's life"

I slowly turned to face her.

" How dare you…you bitch! You can't come into my life like this and try to take me over!" I was nearly screaming… " You don't own me! I… am… staying…right… here! No stuck up little bitch like you is gonna make me move!" 

She glared at me and crossed her arms. Clearly she didn't like anyone facing up to her. Perhaps she wasn't used it. Stupid…

" I'll see you soon then"

With that she left. I stood alone in my room for while. I waited for my blood to go down. When it didn't…I lost it.

The closest thing to me…a light. I grabbed it, spun around and hurtled it at the window. It smashed through and fell outside. Next I picked up my study chair and through it at the wall. It crashed hard against it, bending the chair and denting the wall. Anything around me I picked up and threw. I was in a frenzy.

When I was tired I fell on my now tattered bed. They would pay for what they had done to me.

So picked up a piece of glass from the bed and sat upright. Slowly, as if afraid, I pushed my sleeve up slightly.

" This is it…"

I placed the glass on my wrist. I held it there for a moment. Taking everything in. I was not backing out now. So without another thought.

I sliced it across…

It hurt more then I had anticipated. Already blood had begun spilling out and falling onto the sheets below. I held it upright.

I did my other wrist. It was harder, since my other hand was already injured, but I managed.

Once I was cut on both wrists, I knew it was over. So I lay down on the bed and turned my head to look out the window. My eyes were heavy. So I closed them.

Quistis grabbed the sheets from the closet. She grumbled as she noticed two sheets missing. Perhaps hiring new staff was not the best option. Oh well, there's always next year as they say.

She placed the sheets over her arm and read her list. Squalls room. She smiled. She had intended on speaking with him anyway. She hurriedly ran up the stairs.

But when she reached his door…

She let out a scream.

Authors' notes" THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER! I think there will be maybe another two to go. I think. Sorry.

Yes I know! Angsty. Please please review! I would really appreciate it!

I reached my 50th review mark! Woooooo-hooooooooo! Thanks everyone!

Oh and don't worry I wont let Squall die! Read next chapter (next week) to find out what happens to our poor hero!

Please please please please please review!

I wonder if I can reach 60 reviews?? Hmm………

Thankyou,

AnImEfReAk34

Lifebringzdeath

Freakker

Drifting moomba

Trekken46

Billie the Wild Angel

GOD


	14. Aftermath

The Way Life Mocks Me 

**__**

Chapter 14: Aftermath 

"The great thing about pain is it lets you know your not dead yet"

-Unknown

I smiled as I gave Jenny a quick hug. " Congrats Jenny. You and Dave must be pretty excited huh?"

She nodded." Yeah…but what about Squall? It'll get pretty lonely down here"

" Don't worry about him, you know he can take care of himself"

" Mmhmmm"

She smiled again and took off outside. I watched her run into the garden and sit down on the grass next to Dave. He had a book in his hand. Strange…I didn't know he read.

Behind me Quistis was happily bouncing her way up the stairs with an armful of clean sheets and towels. She looked a little pissed off. Maybe it was those new maids…

She walked up the stairs into the hallway. That when I saw her turn to Squall's door and open it up.

I'm not sure if I've ever heard a lady of her size scream so loudly. At first I thought it was just because Squall had neglected to clean his room for some time. But she dropped all her sheets and pressed herself up against the wall. Her eyes round in terror and shaking hands cupped over her mouth. She turned to me.

" Rin…Rinoa, sweetie. Call the ambulance ok? The number is by phone. Just go honey, quick. Please don't worry. Just go" She squeaked. 

I didn't worry about why. I just bolted to the telephone and found the number, quickly punching into the phone and called up the ambulance.

When the ambulance arrived, Quistis took me into the main living room. I guess she didn't want me around to see what was in Squalls room. Dave and Jenny were also pushed in too, much to Dave's dislike. He was furiously trying to see what had happened.

" Lemmi see alright! What happened? Was it Squall?"

" Dave, please settle down. She'll tell you all now ok?" It was Ellone. She was sitting on the couch. I walked over and sat next to her.

Quistis fumbled with her dress for a minute before speaking. " Yes it was Squall. He…he was…" Ellone reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder. " Its ok Quistis"

She nodded. Smiling thankfully at Ellone. Once again, she cleared her throat and continued. " Squall was in his bedroom lying down. He must have…" She couldn't get the words out, so she held up her hand and placed a finger on her wrist.

Oh no.

It couldn't be…could it?

Dave put his head in his hands and mumbled something. I saw jenny place a hand on his shoulder look over at Quistis. " Quisty…was it that bad?"

The small maid nodded weakly. She sat back down and took in a deep breath. 

I turned my head away and looked at the door. I heard a door close and a car driving off. The ambulance. Carrying Squall in it. Dead or alive…I wouldn't know. 

It was night. I hadn't heard anything from Quistis or…anyone. No one knew anything about Squall's condition. I was sitting on my bed, my arms wrapped neatly around my knees. I heard someone in the hallway. They knocked on my door. 

I slowly stood up to answer it. It was a lady. She was pretty tall and had an uncanny resemblance to Squall. 

She smiled weakly and held out her hand. " I'm Raine" I smiled and shook her hand. So this was Squall's mother. " I'm Rinoa"

" I was wandering if you had heard anything about Squall…when they told me what happened. I…couldn't believe it, how could he do that?"

" I'm not sure. I'm as in the dark as you are. Sorry" 

She smiled weakly again and looked down. " I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to him now. I've missed out on so much of his life already…"

I pitied her. She looked so downcast. Her only son was in a hospital, probably dying. She must have felt so torn. I took her hand.

" He'll be alright. I haven't known him all that well…but I do know how strong he is and he will get through this"

Actually…so far…I considered him to be a bit lacking of mental strength. But I had to keep up my hopes too. 

After she left I was alone in my room again. I lay down and looked out the window. I was wondering what they would do with the sheets. The blood soaked sheets. Would they burn them, throw them out or scrub them until the blood came out so they could use them again?

I looked over Esthar. The sun behind had set, but an orange glow still resided around the outline of the tall buildings. Somewhere out there, Squall was either lying asleep in a hospital bed or dead.

I fell asleep and for the first time in a few weeks…I didn't dream at all.

Something prodded at my shoulder. I rolled over and flicked it away. Keeping my eyes pressed shut. As soon as I would open my eyes there was no hope of going back to sleep again. It's true.

" Rinoa" It whispered. I continued to ignore it. I wanted my sleep.

" Rinny quick wake up! Its about Squall!" The name 'Squall' registered something in my brain and I opened my eyes, coming face to face with Jenny, who was smiling from ear to ear.

" He's alive"

…

A/N: Thankyou everyone for reading this far! You guys are great! ~ I wasn't actually thinking of updating yet, but because of the enormous feedback, I decided to update quickly.

So thankyou for the reviews.

Next chapter~ confrontation! Oooooh!

Please please review! Thanx!


	15. Confrontation

The Way Life Mocks Me 

Chapter 15: Confrontation 

(Okay I know nothing about this kind of stuff. So if you think it might be a bit odd that Squall is awake and talking…don't ask. Heh.)

Okay so I'm not nervous. I have been nervous before. Like when I won an award for the spelling bee and I had to give a speech. Or when I threw an ice cream at the school bully, Denis, and had to face the principal. Yeah, I was hell nervous back in those times. But right now, I'm on my way to the hospital to see my friend, (friend?) who has just tried to kill himself. No way, I'm not nervous; I'm cool and collected.

I think…

Next to me, Jenny was lying slouched over with a phone in her hand. She tossed it from hand to hand. Like juggling them with her thoughts. I could sort of guess what her mind-wheel was spinning. 

Then there was Dave. He looked calm…besides the fact that he was chewing on his nails like a lunatic and his face was pretty white. Yeah, he was calm. He's one of those, 'strange emotions' people. Honest. I should be an expert on the subject.

Ellone, she just looked plainly worried. No kidding. Her nephew just tried to kill himself. Haven't I already told you that? Squall tried to kill himself. I should have said it enough by now. So maybe I'm not truly in the right mind right now, but I would say she was about to burst. She had been trying so hard to pull everyone together. Just not herself.

Mitch was driving…so I wouldn't know what the heck he was feeling. Or if he cared…

Then there was me. Poor little me. The general's daughter who seems just a little bit out of place. How long had I known everyone? A month? Yeah I think so. That's still not long enough you know. Hey, I think I lied before. I'm hell nervous. More nervous than the time I almost fell over the bridge at the Great Salt Lake. 

The car pulled to a stop and we all sat inside for a minute. No one really wanted to get out yet. Dave looked around and cleared his throat. " Everyone" We looked over to him. 

" Lets go okay" He opened the door and Jenny followed him out. I opened my door and met Ellone on the other side. " Hey Elle…" I asked. She looked up. " How will Squall be? Did they say if he's awake yet?" She smiled and closed her door. " Yes, he's awake, but hell be tired" She replied. 

With that in mind, I walked inside the hospital.

I have never liked hospitals. They're too white, too clean and smell like the dentist. Which is bad because I also hate the dentist.

Mitch walked up to the desk while the rest of us hung back. Jenny turned to me and whispered, " Hey Rin, are you going to go and see him?"   I nodded back. 

" Why, aren't you?"

" Yes I'm going to see him…its just that…well I'm not sure. I think he did it because of Dave and I"

I was going to ask why but then I remembered. They got into the uni at Deling. I wanted to say something but Mitch ushered us into the corridor with a nurse. I was feeling a bit suffocated. 

The nurse stopped at room 19. " You can go and see him" Mitch looked over at us. Ellone stepped forward. 

" Mitch and I are going to see him then we'll call you in ok?"

We all nodded back and they both walked in. For a while we just stood in silence. It was strange. I would have thought Laguna and Raine would be here…Dave had said that earlier.

" Hey…" Jenny said, " What are we going to say?"

Dave cleared his throat. " Well…we could say we're sorry. Maybe going to uni at Deling is a bad idea and we're going to stay here"

I shook my head and sat down. They had it all wrong. " Hey wait guys, Squall was happy for you wasn't he? He wants you to go there!"

" I guess we'll never know…" Jenny whispered. At that instant, Mitch and Ellone walked out of the room. 

" You can go and see him now" Ellone said. She looked over at Jenny with a gentle smile. " Don't worry, its not your fault" With that, she sat down on the waiting couch. I exchanged a worried glance with Dave before we entered. 

Squall was sitting up in the bed, leaning his arm on his knee and holding his head in his hand. He looked pretty dull, but when he saw us, he brightened. Dave closed the door and both Jenny and I sat down on some chairs. Dave spoke first.

" Why'd you do it?"

Squall looked around for a bit before answering. His voice was small and quiet. 

" I don't know…I just…I wasn't feeling as if I had…" He stopped there and closed his eyes. He looked to be in some kind of pain. Jenny reached over. 

" Squall? Are you ok?"

" Yeah…I'm fine. Just a little dizzy" He took a deep breath. " Raine came to my room and spoke with me. Stupid cow. She thinks she owns me"

I spoke for the first time. " But…she came to see me and she seemed really nice"

" Ha! That's just how she acts around others… Around me, she's the wicked witch of the west. A total dictator. She was saying that… Laguna wanted to get rid of me, so I have to go down to lower Esthar… and live with her"

Dave frowned. " But why?"

" I have no idea. Like I said, she 'owns me'. So just now… Elle and Mitch came up with an idea"

Jenny smiled. " Like what?"

" Well… I'll tell you when I get back home…its pretty good news" He smiled back and placed his arms by his side. I couldn't see past his long sleeves, but knew there would be think bandages underneath.

" When do you go back?" I asked. 

" In about three days" 

I looked out the window. Three days…I would be gone in four days. Not enough time to…oh well. There's never enough time in this world to do anything anymore.

..~**~..

A/N

Phew! Thanks for your patience on this chapter. Aprox 2 chapter to go…and I mean it this time! Honest!


	16. Family Secrets

The Way Life Mocks Me  
  
Chapter 16: Family Secrets  
  
(Squall P.O.V)  
  
I can still remember the look on their faces. When they told me.  
  
" Squall.we heard about what Raine and Laguna are planning to do" Ellone said. She sat down next to me and took my hand. " They want to send you down to lower Esthar to live with Raine.do you want to go?"  
  
" Of course not! Do you know what she said to me? I don't want to have anything to do with that lady."  
  
I sunk down lower and closed my eyes. What was going to happen to me? If Ellone had good news.it had to be something to do with Raine and me. Maybe Raine got killed in a car accident on the way here.  
  
I know it's a bad thought. It's a terrible thought. Mitch smiled and stood next to Ellone. She looked up at him and smiled back. " Should we?" He nodded and looked back at me.  
  
What was going on?  
  
" Squall.Mitch.Mitch is my brother"  
  
My eyes almost popped out of my head. No, really. I'm serious. I sat straight up and looked Mitch dead in the eye. For a few minutes.I couldn't speak.  
  
" Does that mean.you're my uncle?!"  
  
He laughed and nodded. " Yes it does"  
  
I was thrilled. I was overjoyed. I was hell surprised. I just couldn't believe it. By law, I could leave my birth parents and live somewhere else. But I would have to live with a relative. Laguna had since passed on a contract to Ellone, a few years back, that I would not be aloud to leave in her care at any time. She had to sign it of course. It was the law back then.  
  
But now. It isn't.  
  
And Mitch hasn't signed anything. He probably only just found out.  
  
I was free! " So.I am I going to go and live with Mitch?"  
  
Ellone nodded. " Yes and I'll be living there too. Do you remember your cousin, Zell? He's also there"  
  
" When?"  
  
" As soon as possible. When you get home, pack your bags. Mitch is resigning from Laguna today and we'll be leaving by plane next week"  
  
It was all happening so fast. In a week I would be.wherever we're going, sitting next to Zell, talking with him for the first time in five years and I'd never have to speak a word about my life with 'Lasagna' ever again.  
  
Paradise!  
  
So you can bet that when I got to the Palace when I was finally discharged from hospital, I was mighty happy to see Raine and Laguna again, standing outside waiting for me.  
  
Why?  
  
Because I couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when I told them my news. The news to shatter their dreams and plans. The news, to finally set me free.  
  
Raine was standing out the front. With Laguna behind her. Mitch pulled the car to a stop and we got out. He turned to me.  
  
" Now remember.don't just tell them straight out.play with them a bit okay?" He said with a hint of amusement in his eye.  
  
I walked over to her.  
  
" Ready to go?" She asked.  
  
" I sure am"  
  
She nodded. "Okay go and get your stuff and meet me around the back. We'll be going to air station soon"  
  
I laughed. " Well.I know we're leaving. But I'm not leaving with you. What gave you that impression?"  
  
She cocked her head to one side. " And who exactly are you leaving with?"  
  
" With Mitch and Ellone. We're going to move down to Trabia, near the snow Alps. I wont tell you exactly where though. I do have a sense of privacy"  
  
She spun around and faced Laguna. " What's he talking about?"  
  
Laguna confronted me. " Squall you can't leave with them. Ellone signed a - "  
  
" - Yes I know what she signed. But Mitch didn't sign anything and so I'm aloud to leave with him. Oh! Don't you know yet? He's my uncle" I waved this comment off with my hand, as if it was any old ordinary matter.  
  
He just stood there bewildered.  
  
" Seeya soon"  
  
I walked over to entrance and left Mitch to explain further. Jenny, Dave and Rinoa were all there watching, completely gob smacked. Eventually Jenny ran forward tackled me in a huge hug.  
  
" Congrats" She whispered.  
  
I smiled gratefully and looked over at the others. " I think I should start packing"  
  
~  
  
I dumped my three duffle bags on the grass. Looking up at the giant tree, I sighed. It had been my friend for so long. Now I was leaving it with the demons.  
  
" I'm sorry mate. I just have to. You know how much I hate this place. I've told you countless times about my longing for freedom. I think I finally have a chance at it"  
  
I scratched my back nervously. " I must sound so corny right now. I hate to think I'd gone soft you know" I sat down on the grass. " We've been through a lot. Whenever Ellone was gone, you'd be my shoulder to cry on. You listened and never argued. You held me up high enough to hide me from Laguna.you even helped me with my science report in grade eight" I laughed at the memory.  
  
" It was on Ferns. I had no idea how they reproduced. So I climbed up you sat in highest branch. Talking to you about how pissed I was at my teacher.and then.I saw it. A fern. It was just climbing up the side of the tree. On the underside on the leaves, I saw little dots. I found out they were called sori pores. For reproduction!"  
  
I laughed out loud again. Even though I had found the answer to that question.I still got a D.  
  
" Thanks." I whispered. I stood back up and I was about to reach for my bags again, when I heard some one from behind.  
  
" I used to talk to my dolls like that too"  
  
I turned around rolled my eyes. " Yeah but you're a girl. Girls do that"  
  
Rinoa laughed. " Not all of us!"  
  
She walked over to me and looked up at my tree. " It seems different though. You have your tree and I had my dolls"  
  
" They never argue"  
  
" They always listen."  
  
We looked at each other for minute.then burst out laughing. Through her laughter, she said to me, " I'm really gonna miss you" I looked up and sat down. She sat down next to me.  
  
" When are you going?" I asked.  
  
" Tomorrow morning." She whispered. The sky was begging to fade to black. The cold crept in and enveloped the garden. Patches of darkness fell over the enormous tree. A few shadows still lurked over us.  
  
" Hey.when I first came here, I thought you going to be some stuck up rich kid" She said.  
  
" Yeah and I thought you were going to be some rich, slutty nosey girl"  
  
We both smiled and looked up at the sky. " I suppose I learned a lot." She yawned. I stretched my arms out in front and kept my gaze at the sky. " Yeah me too"  
  
Her gaze shifted to me. She looked down at my arms. " Did it hurt." She whispered.  
  
I looked at my hands. My long sleeves covered my wrists. A thin bandage covered them. Underneath, I knew there would identical twin scars. I looked over to her, my voice quiet and thin. " Yes.it hurt a lot. It still does. I never really wanted to die. It wasn't my purpose. I just wanted to show them.what they were doing to me"  
  
She took my hand in hers and sighed. " Why couldn't you tell Dave or Jenny.or even Ellone?" I shook my head. " I just didn't think they would be able to do anything."  
  
She looked back up at the sky. A shooting star streaked across the darkness. We both smiled together.  
  
" Will you stay here with me tonight? My last night?" She asked.  
  
" Sure."  
  
Scribbles: Yes this is the second last chapter. Everything comes to an end next chapter and you'll finally find out what's in store for Rinoa and Squall.  
  
Please help me make it to 80 reviews! 


	17. A Place In This World

The Way Life Mocks Me

Chapter 17: A place in this World

" All good things come to an end" That's what my mother always used to say. She used to whisper it to me all the time, when I was feeling down. It was spirit lifter. It let me know that all good times, no matter how unbelievable they might be, eventually come to and end and there really is nothing you can do about it. Although it may not sound like something to make a person feel better, it certainly worked for me. Because then I knew…it wasn't my fault.

But now…why does it have to end?

Why cant I just stay in the moment and live the good times all the time. Why must it be that way? While I was in my room, packing my bags, I was thinking so hard that I swear I could hear the gears in my mind shifting. I had stayed in Esthar for over a month. And boy, I had a great time. I learnt a hell of a lot.

Because all good stories teach you a moral.

But all good stories have a happy ending. All good stories let the main character be happy and stay for as long as they want or be with whomever they choose.

Not my story. My story won't have a happy ending. I will go home, with my memories, with my new address's and phone numbers and an few extra photographs…and three new friends.

I remember the night I spent out in the garden with Squall so clearly. It was just a few hours ago. We had stayed up all night, watching the sky and pointing out constellations. He even showed me how to find north just by looking at the stars. How interesting, I never knew that. I showed him my birth sign and pointed his out. He even told me a few jokes I had never heard. Which is rare now days. We had a good laugh and Squall said goodbye to his 'mate'.

It was raining outside. Big fat raindrops splattered against the window. The large gray clouds stopped any happy sunshine from view. The day I was leaving. It had to rain. Oh the irony of it all.

Confused and dazed I zipped up the last of my bags and sat back on the bed. I needed to sleep…but I had to say my goodbyes and pack everything into the limo.

I slung the bags over my shoulder and walked out into the hallway. Quistis was rushing up the hallway, bags in her hands too. She skidded to a halt in front of me.

" Quistis…where are you going?"

She chuckled slightly and placed her bags on the ground. She took out a hankie from under her jacket.

" I'm going to Trabia with Squall"

" Why?"

She smiled brightly. " Someone has to look after him" She wiped her forehead then put the hankie back. " I've been with him since he was just this big…" To show me exactly she held her arms apart, about half a meter. " I cant abandon him now…besides, I've always wanted to learn how ski…" She said dreamily. With that, she left down the hallway.

I smiled after her and continued on.

Down the hallway I could hear some music playing. It sounded like…Savage Garden. The lyrics echoed through the small space and bounced off the walls, straight into my head. I almost felt dizzy. I could also hear someone singing along to it. They needed singing lessons. Very long and very vigorous singing lessons.

When the person came into view it was Jenny. I should have known. When she spotted me she turned it off and walked over.

" Don't you just love that song?"

" I'm not sure I've never heard it before actually"

She rolled her eyes. " Its called…uh…well I think its called, 'to the moon and back' or something. How could you have not heard it before? It was a hit!" She teased. I poked out my tongue and pushed past her. She turned it back on and continued her ' cat singing'.

That song would forever ruin my peace.

A shiny black limo sat waiting out the front. A tired looking driver sat in the front, with the window wipers left on, swiping an unstoppable army of rain droplets.

I wanted to go home and see my mother again. I wanted to see Dani again and apologize to her for neglecting her. I want to stay here and, oh why do I wish for too much? I'm going home. Dad needs to get back and I have to be home in time for my first year at University. Like I said, my life is moving too fast. And yet, I wouldn't want it to slow down. No I'm not crazy.

Jenny ran back up to me. She spun me around, causing my perfectly balanced bags to fall onto the ground in a heap and grabbed me by the shoulders, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Don't go!" She cried, emotion straining her voice to a mere choke. I smiled gently and chuckled.

"I have to Jenny…I have to go home. You know I could never stay here, right?"

She nodded, sniffing and looking down. "But I've really gotten to know you better and Squall…"

"Squall what?" Was that a hint of hope in my voice?

"He's going to be alone, and you two have become such great friends!"

"I'll see him again, and you…and Dave! I will…I swear"

She sighed, but smiled and placed a hand on her shoulders. "Come on, you just _know _I'll visit, hey?"

 " Yeah I suppose…"

I breathed in deep, I needed to ask this. "Uh…what exactly did Squall say?"

She grinned. "Well…he was upset, and said he'd really miss you"

That was brilliant. Something inside me went 'ding!' and I felt all warm and fuzzy. He was upset about me going. He wants me to stay! Either I was getting too hopeful or he was truly…sad…about me leaving. Something else in me went 'Duh!'. Of course he's upset.

" Oh all right…never mind. Hey wanna see me off?"

" Sure!"

We both ran out into the pouring rain and up to the limo. Jenny shielded her eyes. " Okay Rinoa, this is the part where we promise to see each other again and always be friends. Then we hug and say our tearful goodbye"

I laughed and reached over to hug her.

" We have to see each other again and always be friends. Promise"

" Me two. Now I'm going back inside. So…be safe and…see you when I do Rinoa"

" Bye Jenny…"

I watched her figure run back inside and out of the rain. Slowly I turned back to the shiny limo and grimaced. A long trip was ahead of me. A painful one.

**_-Squall P.O.V-_**

Snow.

So much snow. The closest I have ever been to snow is the freezer. And yet, there they were. Three enormous mountains, all tipped with glistening white snow. It was as if Hyne herself had picked up a white tipped pen and delicately painted each one.

It was just a brochure. But it was so beautiful. In a week I would be there. Skiing down those mountains and falling on my ass in the snow. But there would be something missing. Something very special. Three people. Three people whom I now hold dear to my heart. Three people that I will never forget. As corny as that may sound, it's true.

I know the feeling of being alone. I knew it all too well. But now I would have to relive it. I wouldn't really be alone. No. I would have my newly found uncle with me. My aunty and my cousin. Oh, and Quistis. She is considered family as well. So I'll be with a real family for once. Minus the friends.

My experiment with sitting in a lonely spot while feeling sad for myself…was not working. I sat up and walked over to the window. Through the annoying rain I could barely see Rinoa walking over to her limo. I had meant to say goodbye earlier. But I kinda figured that last night was our goodbye.

But…

Maybe if I ran I could catch her. Say goodbye again. I'm not even sure if I'll see her again.

I made up my mind.

Without hesitation I spun on my heel and bolted down the hall. On the way I grabbed my jacket and threw it on. Pulling the windbreaker up I skidded around the corner at the bottom of the stairs. The double doors were open…strangely…and I ran through, right outside into the heavy rain. I prayed she wasn't already in the car…gone.

" Rinoa!!!"

I heard a door close…and my hopes evaporated. Then a door opening. Rinoa appeared around the corner, almost literally drenched. I was so relieved to see her, that I threw myself at her and held on tight. She just stood there, stunned. I let go and stood back.

" I wanted to say bye…and…I'm sorry"

She tilted her head. " Sorry for what?"

" I put you threw hell. All of you, and I'm sorry. I was such jerk, I shouldn't have made you all so worried"

It was hard to hear so we had to yell slightly. She smiled and put her hands on my shoulders. Her hands were freezing.

"Squall. I'm glad for everything that happened. Good and bad. Because you taught me something. I now know how to live, so thank you, honestly"

 " Thanks…"

She nodded and pulled me closer. We hugged one more time and she turned her head to whisper to me. " You were the first person I ever danced with. I had never danced before and…thanks" I laughed slightly.

 " No problem" I laughed.

While we stood there. Getting completely drenched. I had a reflection moment…

_" Don't__ they look cute?" She had said._

_" Yeah__ they do"_

_She asked me what time the ball finished and told her '__midnight__'. But, she had no idea how much I wanted it last forever. Just being with her that night. It made me feel so special. It made me feel needed. _

_And when we sat outside on the balcony.__ At a hotel. That was the first time we really spoke together, it was the first time I realized what a nice person she really was. And…that shooting star._

She let go again and the reflection ended. She seemed a little nervous and looked to the ground, twirling her foot on the ground in circle, a habit of hers that I had previously noticed. Water was collecting like a river at our feet and I had to struggle to keep myself from being swept away by its might and the wind combined. I looked back to her face, to find her eyes peering at me. I caught my breath. She seemed to be looking right at me, into my very soul. I stepped back suddenly, but she grabbed my arm and held onto me desperately. Then without any warning she put her arms around my neck, our eyes connecting.

" To remember me by…" She whispered, her face dangerously close to mine. I tensed.

And…

She kissed me.  At first I was shocked, and stood stock still like a wall. But I relaxed and melted into her, wrapping my arms around her waist and returning her gesture. My first real kiss. We weren't anything out of the ordinary. We weren't two crazed lunatics holding onto each other with no hope. Just two teenagers kissing in the rain, and it felt right, but it didn't last long enough. Because when she pulled away, I pulled her back. It was just how I had imagined it would be. In the pouring rain. Freezing our asses off.  All of the sudden the voice in my head told me to stop. It was probably a good idea too. Oxygen was becoming an issue.

She stood back and grinned. I held out my arms this time, welcoming her into an embrace and put my forehead to hers. She looked me in the eyes again.

"Goodbye Rinoa" I muttered, finality evident in my voice.

That was the end. She left soon after, waving me goodbye from her car, watching me as I chased it out of the street and away into the distance. I think I stood out in the rain for about half an hour after that. Quistis ran out and pulled me inside, saying something about 'hypothermia' and 'diseases'. But I couldn't care. All I could do was laugh and think about her, and how my story ended.

Perfect.

**_Fin_**

**Scribbles: **It's over! The end. Thank you all so much for your support on this story All you readers and reviewers have been the best. You kept me writing.

-18th of July-

Rewrote this ending because it thought that a story with so much pride in it deserved a more proper, grammar wise. I added more detail and a few more emotions. Hope it's done well. Still contemplating a sequel.

Thankyou's

**_Bridgy_****_: _**_Thanks a bunch!_

**_FF9 Zidane: _**_Thanks so much for reading! I'm so glad I got someone else to start reading this! Yay! And I loved the cookie. You must have read my mind cos I was starving. _

**_Evan'sRinoa_****_: _**_Yes I agree. My chapters were short. Probably from lack of attention and sleep. But fear not, I will improve. I was shocked to hear you say you spent 45 minutes reading this. I feel so honored! Thanks._

**_Seifer'Incarnate_****_: _**_Your fic is progressing nicely and thanks for reading mine._

**_AngelMaster_****_: _**_I hope this final chapter is okay. Thankyou!_

**_JerseyGirl03: _**_I hope you'll be pleased to know there will be a sequel. Cheers!_

**_Rizza426: _**_My bad, I meant to say '90 reviews' my bad. Thanks. I loved your nice comments. Thankyou so much. _

**_Drifting Moomba: _**_I bet the whole uncle thing was a shock! Hope you liked it. Thanks for reviewing. _

**_The Angel Of The Lion: _**_Yay__, you loved it! Thanks! Your one of my favorite authors! _

**_Billie The Kid: _**_Sorry bout the cliffhanger. I didn't even know it was. Heh, thanks for reading. _

**_XxMazLeonheartxX_****_: _**_hahaha__, I loved your review. Thanks for reading. Liking angst? Me too!_

**_Lifebringzdeath_****_: _**_Technically Rinoa and Squall didn't end up together so…yeah…it worked both ways I think. Sorry I didn't ' disembowl' Laguna and Raine. I thought it might be a tad cruel. But I think you'll be glad to know about the sequel. _

**_Selphie Kinneas: _**_Yes Mitch was horrible! But he's nice now. Really. Thankyou for reading. _

**_Angelofthelions_****_: _**_Well its finished! I hope you liked it. Thankyou._

**_Chichiri's_****_-Girl: _**_yeah school in the holidays does suck! Thanks._

**_GirlsDontCri_****_: _**_Thankyou__._

**_There was a lot more people who reviewed and I want to thank you all but I don't have much time and my back is sore oooow. I'm sure you wont mind. If I missed you, ill probably email you. _**


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